Scottish independence: Costs revealed for Supreme Court case

THE Indyref2 legal battle has cost the Scottish Government almost £114,000 before the matter has yet to be discussed in the Supreme Court.

No breakdown outlining the details of how the money has been spent was given when the sum was published by the Scottish Government at the end of last week.

"The Lord Advocate has referred to the Supreme Court the devolution issue and question of whether legislation providing for an independence referendum would relate to a reserved matter in terms of the Scotland Act 1998.

"We have undertaken to publish the associated costs, which to date have been £113,955.10," the note published by the Scottish Government late on Thursday said.

In August ministers confirmed the total cost on external counsel for Lord Advocate's Dorothy Bain’s referral to the UK highest court was £27,193 to the Scottish taxpayer as of June 28.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly said her preference would be for the UK Government to grant Holyrood the power to hold Indyref2 on October 23 next year.

This happened ahead of the 2014 referendum under a so-called Section 30 order, making the referendum legally watertight.

The First Minister had threatened to pass a Referendum Bill through Holyrood regardless, and dare the UK Government to challenge it.

But Ms Bain did not sign off on the draft legislation, as she was concerned whether it was within Holyrood’s legislative competence.

Her reference to the Supreme Court is intended to clarify whether such a Bill would be within Holyrood’s powers, or would stray into issues reserved to Westminster.

Last night the Scottish Government and the Greens defended the spending so far on the Supreme Court case.

The latter argued the legal move would not have been necessary if the UK Government had granted the First Minister's request to agree to a referendum. However, the Conservatives and Lib Dems condemned the spending as wasteful.

Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Donald Cameron MSP, said: “Once again the SNP Government are focusing on the wrong priorities at the worst possible time.

“With £114,000 spent and rising, it is clear that the SNP Government will pursue their independence obsession whatever the cost, even if it means squandering money that should be used on things that really matter.

“SNP ministers need to get their priorities right, and focus on helping the people of Scotland rather than throwing more money down the drain on this self-serving Supreme Court case.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: “This only adds to the growing pile of cash that the Scottish Government have squirreled away on a fool's errand. It is absolutely shameful.

"As the cost of living soars and A&E wait times reach yet another record high, the SNP/ Green coalition are fixated on breaking up the UK. They are taking people for granted.

"Every penny at the government's disposal should be tackling heating bills and insulating homes, saving the NHS from breaking point and firing the Scottish economy on all cylinders.”

But the Scottish Government and Greens hit back and said costs of the action will be published regularly.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “People in Scotland have voted for a Parliament with a clear majority in favour of independence and with a mandate for an independence referendum.

"The Lord Advocate decided to make the Supreme Court reference following consideration of a number of factors including the constitutional significance of the matter and the fact that issues of law remain unresolved.

“Details of the Scottish Government’s costs will be updated on a regular basis.”

Maggie Chapman, the Scottish Greens MSP, said: "It should never have come to this, but the reason we are here is the UK government's contempt for our democracy.

"Scotland's future is a choice for the people of Scotland. It should not take a Supreme Court case to force Downing Street to recognise our democratic rights."

She added: "I am confident that when given the choice, the people of Scotland will support independence and embrace the chance to do things differently. We cannot afford even more years of cuts, austerity and Tory governments that we didn't vote for and can't remove."

The UK Supreme Court has set a provisional date for hearing the case on whether Holyrood has the power to stage a second independence referendum without Westminster’s consent.

The UK’s highest court is due to hear arguments on October 11 and 12, just after the SNP’s annual conference in Aberdeen.

Responding to the dates of the hearings, which were announced in July, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said it was “welcome news”, while his unionist critics accused him of pursuing a wasteful “vanity project”.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is expected late this year.

As the Union is reserved to Westminster in the 1998 Scotland Act, most commentators believe the Court is expected to rule Holyrood cannot hold Indyref2 without Westminster’s consent.

If the Court does rule that way, Ms Sturgeon has said she will fight the next General Election as a “de facto referendum” on the single question of independence.

However, that is unlikely to be seen as a valid process by the international community and is unlikely to be recognised by the Prime Minister.

But should the court rule that a referendum using Holyrood powers is lawful, it emerged earlier this month that the UK Government is considering ways of blocking it.

Reports suggested that ministers may bring in a new referendum act in Westminster which would require more than half of Scotland’s entire electorate, rather than a simple majority, to vote to leave the Union before it would be allowed.

The Sunday Times reported that senior government figures want to legislate quickly to introduce new barriers to independence.

Eight years after the matter last went to a vote, the plan would require evidence for more than a year that at least 60 per cent of voters want a new referendum on independence before the UK government would even consider it.

Then in the event that ministers agreed to hold one, a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one of those who vote — as with the 2016 EU referendum and the 2014 independence referendum — would not suffice. Instead, at least 50 per cent of all of Scotland’s electorate would require to vote to leave the Union before the change would be passed.

In 2014, when 45 per cent voted for Scottish independence and 55 per cent voted against, 85 per cent of the electorate turned out.

Had the proposed approach applied back then, the Yes side would have required to secure more than half a million extra votes to win. Last time Yes gained support from 38 per cent of the electorate and No 47 per cent while 15 per cent did not vote.

The latest edition of a major annual survey recorded the highest level of support for Scottish independence - at 52 per cent - and concluded the Union “has become decidedly less popular”.

Led by eminent pollster Professor Sir John Curtice, the 39th annual British Social Attitudes Survey, published on Thursday, also showed growing divisions across Britain and Northern Ireland over constitutional issues exacerbated by Brexit.

The study, carried out by The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), examined shifting attitudes in Scotland to the Union over the years, with support for independence rising from 23 per cent in 2012.

Fieldwork for the latest report was carried out in September and October last year.